This feature-length pilot for an unsold TV series was based on -Mandrake the Magician, the long-running comic strip created by
Lee Falk and
Phil Davis in 1934. Raised in the Himalayas, the orphaned Mandrake (played as a child by
David Hollander, and as an adult by
Anthony Herrera) is taught the secrets of magic and mass hypnosis by the wizard Theron (
James Hong), and is given an enchanted amulet that will protect him from harm. With the help of his loyal assistant Lother (
Ji-Tu Cumbuka), the caped, top-hatted Mandrake attempts to thwart an insane extortionist who threatens to kill innocent amusement-park patrons unless he is given 10,000,000 dollars. Princess Narda, Mandrake's exotic vis-à-vis from the funny papers, is here replaced by a feisty female cohort named Stacy (
Simone Griffeth). Earning no plaudits from devotees of the original comic strip,
Mandrake was little heard from after its initial NBC telecast on January 24, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide